Think of all the ways that companies use branding to build awareness of themselves or to promote their social awareness and customer service values. A few things come to mind such as greeters at the entrance of your my favorite store, go-green awareness issues, charity drives that “give back” to the community for every purchase made, TV screens playing music videos or news as you wait in line, and the list goes on.

None of these things lead directly to conversions but they do lead to higher company awareness and the good old fashioned warm and fuzzies we get when we know that that we are valued as a customer. Most times we are probably not even be aware of these things on a conscious level. But the effect shows as we have a tendency to patron these companies more frequently than the other alternatives.

Branding is a viable marketing strategy

Businesses worldwide invest millions of dollars in branding campaigns each year. In fact, let’s put aside pure branding campaigns. If you think about it, providing good customer service is branding too. The quality of customer service a company provides (good or bad), causes an image of that company to be branded into the consumers mind. Over time, a little here and a little there builds up into a solid perception of that company. Whether they like it or not they have established a recognizable brand by doing little more than going about their business.

When it comes to realizing the benefits of branding, most companies will tell you that it is valuable. Increases in sales can rarely be traced back to a single customer service or branding event. But that doesn’t negate the value or stop companies from investing their money into these types of campaigns. The lack of trackable ROI on a per-sale level doesn’t make branding (or good customer service) an unnecessary expense. In fact I don’t think any consumer would argue against the necessity of excellent customer service.

So what’s all this have to do with social media? Social media is branding.

Over time Target may see an increase in brand awareness and overall sales due to their clever TV commercials that do little more than show people dancing around a red target symbol, but I doubt they can trace any sales increase to a single commercial spot. I’m sure Wal-Mart can’t track a single purchase to the addition of the elderly employee standing at the entrance greeting customers. But when we walk through those doors, we feel that Wal-Mart cares just a little bit more about me, the customer. So goes social media.

When we engage in social media and online social networking, we similarly don’t see any immediate, trackable results. But, like branding and customer service, we don’t need to in order to understand that it’s valuable. When companies engage in social media they can’t think of it as a traditional marketing expense with a return on investment that can be shown on paper. Results won’t be seen immediately, and usually only after a very long period of time, and you’ll not likely be able to pinpoint a single new sale or customer an a particular branding campaign.

But social media is still important. It provides a way for companies to get out there and get noticed. It’s an opportunity to go where the consumers are and create a presence. Like a TV ad, you don’t have to wait for consumers to find you, you go where they are. But instead of forcing yourself on them while they are watching their favorite TV show, social media let’s you actually hang out with them. You’re not the ad on the wall, you’re the guy holding the drink telling stories that your audience finds fascinating.

Social media is better than branding and customer service.

Because of the direct interaction social media affords the client with their customers, it truly is better than any branding campaign, including one-on-one customer service. Customer service means that the target consumer has to become a customer first (or at least be very close to becoming a customer) before you can make a good impression.

Social media, however allows you to brand yourself long before anyone becomes your customer. And it can often be the catalyst that brings them over. And why wouldn’t they? You’ve already become a part of the group. In fact, if you’ve done your social marketing right, you’ve already become their friend. This is interactive branding at work.

So don’t be afraid to participate in social media just because you don’t see the ROI. You’re not likely to, at least not immediately and not in a way you can pinpoint one event causing another. But over time, you can build your social reputation. This leads to credibility. And over time that credibility and awareness will very likely lead to an increase in your customer base.

About Nerdwerx

As a Quad City Web Design company, we develop awesome websites, design compelling graphics for the web, exceed at performing search engine optimization, and are social media marketing gurus. Whether you need to utilize our SEO services for your current website, develop a brand identity for your custom social networking site, or something in-between, we offer superior one-stop services as a web design company and SEO company in the Quad Cities. Tired of reading? Talk to us now: Call 877-505-NERD.

After wasting my life educating myself for hours upon hours, and reviewing thousands of websites over the past ten years or so, I figured it was about time to consolidate my findings and educate others who may not have time in their schedules to do what I have done: Learned What Not To Do.

This is the first of a series of posts entitled “Ways To Make Your Website Useless”. You can probably tell from the tone I’m using that I don’t recommend doing anything on this list. Zip, ziltch, nada. 

Remember, bad website design ultimately costs more than good website design, regardless of the price tag. Lo varato sale caro. (The cheap comes out expensive) – translate to any language of your choice.

1. Mystery Meat Navigation

Mystery meat navigation (also abbreviated MMN) is a term used to describe user interfaces in which it is extremely difficult for users to discern the destinations of navigational hyperlinks—or, in severe cases, even to determine where the hyperlinks are. The typical form of MMN is represented by menus composed of icons that are replaced with text only when the mouse cursor hovers over them. Annoying.

Yep, your navigation makes visitors sick.

In short, Mystery Meat Navigation that makes your website useless by preventing your visitors from easily getting to the other links in and pages on your site, and sometimes even figuring out what a link points to without putting the mouse cursor over it.

While the guy in the sales department in-house web expert thought it would be neato to make all your buttons a look like your logo, and force you to hover over them so they’ll show the destination, your users think otherwise. If you analyze your stats, I bet your Bounce Rate and Visit Duration are not so good. (More about those terms in another post.)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wguO93zZd-U]

Lesson: Don’t use Mystery Meat Navigation. Clear, concise links will help your visitors get what they need…and it’s not so bad for search engines, either.

Up next: 3D Graphics

A complete profile – does it matter?

Is Your LinkedIn Account Incomplete

In a nutshell, Yes. Screaming from the top of my desk, YES! Now, before the guys with straightjackets come to pull me out of here; YES. Your profile is important and it should be complete – it speaks for you; and it’s someone’s first impression of you. It should give a good overview of you and what you do – this will help people determine if they want to be connected to you and if you have/are involved with something that can be of some value to them. LinkedIn is your branding tool for your career.

The Summary

If you’re looking for a job or the next contract, Summary matters. It is probably best to update it regularly, to ensure that others – such as hiring managers – notice you. Make sure to use enough keywords that your target audience is searching for — sounds a lot like SEO, doesn’t it? Your summary should reflect who you are. 

Hobbies?

Hobbies help demonstrate diversity and give you a personal side. We don’t work our entire lives and it’s safe to say that most of us, if not all, enjoy a few hobbies in our personal time. These tidbits of information give the reader a piece of your overall life. If you’re concerned, leave out the “weird” hobbies, like duct tape art.  BBC Agrees.

What about my picture?

Your picture gives a face to the words on the screen, making a more personal connection. And, it can create familiarity if someone starts to see you in various places – familiarity is always good. Look at my mugshot – who can forget that?

Work Experience?

If you’re well into your career, it is probably safe to leave off the jobs you had in high school and early college. Working at a grocery store or fast food restaurant may not be applicable any longer, and while these jobs aren’t a point of pride to you now, they may still be relevant if you’re just getting started. In that case, leaving your previous jobs on this section demonstrates your ability get – and keep – a job. As your career develops, you can begin to prune them from your profile.

I recommend going back as far as your undergraduate — it gives the reader a scope of where you’ve been, as well as what you have been able to achieve. This choice really depends on the purpose: If you really want someone to be focused on your latest experiences, just list the last position, with details and results. A safe rule of thumb is the last 3 jobs or 15 years in the case of working for the same company with multiple jobs in the company. 

Should I join Groups?

Groups are great because they allow you to interact with large numbers of people and also allow you to get your message out to large numbers of people at once. I frequently post discussions and articles in various groups and generally get a decent response. By posting articles from my website and this blog, I get visitors and people are able to see the resources I make available, as well as become more familiar with me. 

You may find people in groups who want to connect with you, or people you want to connect with. But the key is to participate; just joining a group won’t do it. You need to be active so only join groups that really interest you/are relative to you and participate in them. You can find and share valuable resources within groups. Some groups even share job postings.

Cheap hosting has become a very popular niche, but there is another side to the service which the average customer may not be aware of.  Some web hosting companies employ a wide variety of tricks in order to sell their cheap service, many of which could hinder your ability to be successful with a website.  Learning about these practices will help you know what to expect and hopefully elude the hosts behind them.

Lack of Experience and Track Record

The web hosting market is filled with thousands of companies who are just waiting to provide you with service.  One should also beware that some of these providers have not been in business very long.  Even worse, some do not have the manpower, knowledge and experience it takes to run a web hosting business.  Signing up with a host that is just hitting the scene and riding the learning curve might leave you with a lot of heartache when things to start to go wrong.  While everyone has to start somewhere, it is best to find a company that has a proven track record.  This is one that is most likely to provide you with the best service.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPaBD5tLxlU]
Check out this video of a web host flooding! Ouch! (It’s not us!)

Lousy Support

There are many web hosting providers that will cut back on every aspect they can in order to save money.  One of the most vital areas they sacrifice is support.  These are companies who make it next to impossible to get the help you need.  They may offer limited support by allowing you to only contact the staff via email.  Some will even advertise 24/7 support but fall short by taking forever to respond to your inquiries or simply not answering the phone.  This is why it is so important to make sure you sign up with a host that can provide quality support.  It is a good rule of thumb to test the company with an email or call during late night hours or over the weekend.  Whenever you need help, they should be able to step up and deliver.

SLA…or lack thereof.

The Service Level Agreement or SLA, is often overlooked but you should never disregard it.

The SLA is to entail how problems that the web host encounters will directly influence the customers experience.  This agreement needs to be read thoroughly before signing up with any web host.  If the company doesn’t offer one, move onto the next.  If the SLA does not clearly outline the level of service you are to receive and what will happen if is not upheld, you should probably find a company that offers something more comprehensive.

Beware of the Middleman

When running across a cheap hosting plan, there may be a chance that you are not dealing with a web hosting company at all, yet an agent selling packages on their behalf.  This is known as reseller hosting, a practice that allows entrepreneurs and small businesses to profit from web hosting.  Although reseller hosting isn’t necessarily a bad thing, you should keep in mind that you will have no direct contact with the web host, the company who is doing all the work and actually housing your data.

A Word of Advice…Host in Your Country

 Many major search engines give sites a relevancy boost if they are hosted in the same location as the local search market. In some locations, local hosting may not be economical, but if you are promoting a site primarily geared toward the U.K., you would want to host that site in the U.K.

Conclusion

If you’re unsure what to do about all this hosting stuff or if you have some questions, pick up the phone and dial (877) 505-NERD. We’ll lend you a hand.